Volvo's new XC90 to get Bowers & Wilkins audio system

Volvo's new XC90 to get Bowers & Wilkins audio system

The new Volvo XC90 will come with a state-of-the-art audio system from Bowers & Wilkins.

The result of the collaboration uses a combination of high-performance, low-distortion speaker designs, including extended range aluminium tweeters, Kevlar midrange units and reflecting components found in Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers. It also features a centre speaker with tweeter-on-top technology for the first time in a car. With 19 speakers, seven tweeters, four cone woofers and an air-ventilated subwoofer that is integrated into the body of the car, the new XC90 gets one of the foremost audio systems in the automotive market. It claims to produce a "more open" and "spacious sound".

"The XC90 uses our tweeter-on-top technology, which has a number of advantages in the automotive environment. Fundamentally, it increases the ratio of direct to reflected sound, as more of the signal reaches the listener directly from the tweeter, rather than reflecting off the windscreen first. All of this means that the Bowers & Wilkins audio system in the XC90 sounds incredibly tangible and lifelike," said Stuart Nevill, head of engineering, Bowers & Wilkins.

The details on the audio system follows Volvo's recent reveal of the interiors and the next-gen touch interface on the central panel, the Sensus system. Control of various cloud-based applications and in-car activities like audio, navigation and telephony can be taken using the Sensus. It also gets Apple's CarPlay. All of this can also be operated using the steering-mounted controls and the data on the heads-up display.